HARRISBURG-LANCASTER-LEBANON-YORK | South Central, PA | Regional Development Thread

[EastSideHBG]

/\
Lovely project and I sure hope it passes! I wish it was taller too but then it would definitely have no hope of becoming a reality.

Here is the site for the project info: http://www.wcipartners.com/hotel_project.mp

[EastSideHBG]

Council Approves Zoning Change For Harrisburg Hotel

Tuesday November 14, 2006 11:08pm
Posted By: Kay Smith

Harrisburg - Harrisburg City Council voted 6-1 to approve a zoning change that would allow for a new high-rise hotel at 2nd and State Streets. Developer Alex Hartzler plans on building a 14-story hotel, that will feature 148 rooms. The hotel is expected to add some 300 jobs. It should open some time around September of 2008. Susan Brown-Wilson/City Council, "I think it is good for Harrisburg, if we do invite growth, if we do invite investment. It helps our tax base. It puts money where we need to have it."

Councilman Dan Miller was the only dissenting vote. He feels it would not fit in with the character of State Street.

http://www.abc27.com/news/stories/1106/374698.html

[harrisburger]

it will be interesting to see if this draws more business on to state street. it has those wide sidewalks which would be great for cafes. with this surface lot soon gone, is there only one left (right across from fisaga?) on restaurant row?

[EastSideHBG]

The one on Locust St. near Scott's? Yeah, I think that is the only one left around there.


City rezoning clears hurdle for hotel

Wednesday, November 15, 2006
BY JOHN LUCIEW
Of The Patriot-News

Harrisburg now has a welcome mat out for hotel projects.

The City Council last night voted 5-1 to approve zoning changes that allow hotels to be built along Restaurant Row and the central business district.

The move opens the door for a $10 million project to build a Starwood Aloft hotel at State and North Second streets.

The 14-story hotel still needs the planning commission, the zoning hearing board and the City Council to approve its designs and its proposed 168-foot height.

Developer J. Alex Hartzler said Harrisburg would be among the first dozen cities to get the Aloft brand, which he said targets hip, young business travelers.

Joe Massaro, general manager of the Hilton Harrisburg & Towers, said the brand and its target demographic appear to be a perfect fit for Restaurant Row, the city's strip of bars, restaurants and nightclubs along North Second Street.

"They are positioning this new brand for upscale markets that can draw a younger demographic," said Massaro, who added that he welcomes what would be downtown's third major hotel.

"They are looking for the right locations where the surroundings are in keeping with the brand," he said of Starwood. "And they look up and down Restaurant Row and know it would be a good fit."

Starwood, which manages hotels including Westin and Sheraton, is rolling out the Aloft brand in cities such as Charleston, S.C., and Chantilly, Va., near Dulles International Airport.

The company bills Aloft hotels as offering stylish, modern design, accessible technology and a hip, urban attitude.

The loftlike design incorporates exposed beams, structural steel and natural materials such as cork and wood, according to the company.

Guest rooms would have 9-foot ceilings and oversized windows to bring in natural light. Each room would have a combination high-tech office and entertainment center.

The 148-room Harrisburg project would include an outdoor pool, street-level retail space and a lounge and 140-seat restaurant with a sidewalk cafe on State Street.

"This is a win-win for Harrisburg," said Hartzler, president of WCI Partners, a Harrisburg real estate investment group.

Hartzler expressed optimism that the project would survive the city's approval process.

The first stop in the three-pronged process is a meeting of the city's planning commission at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow at City Hall.

"I think the 5-1 vote really portends well," Hartzler said. "We are very optimistic we will be successful."

Councilman Dan Miller, the lone dissenter on the zoning change, called the idea of a towering hotel on State Street a "folly" that would lead to the street's "destruction."

"I cannot in good conscience vote for this ordinance," he said.

While not opposed to the hotel zoning change, Historic Harrisburg Association, a preservation group, has outlined its opposition to the Aloft project. Its statement calls the project out of character with State Street and lists numerous concerns, including its height and its impact on sight lines to the Capitol.

Numerous supporters of the project packed council chambers and broke into applause when the zoning changes were approved. Several speakers hailed the zoning change as a major step forward for the city and its development.

Rose Snow of ValueClick, an Internet advertising company on Front Street, said she'll have a place to accommodate traveling employees and visiting executives, rather than putting them up in Derry Twp. or the suburbs when the Hilton and Crowne Plaza are sold out.

"I think this will be in the best interest of keeping things growing in Harrisburg," she said.

[EastSideHBG]

The bad.

HARRISBURG

City's emergency loan can't halt layoffs

Wednesday, November 15, 2006
BY JOHN LUCIEW
Of The Patriot-News

Harrisburg's city coffers are about to be flush with cash, with today's much-anticipated receipt of a $7 million bank loan.

But city officials say the extra money might not prevent another round of layoffs that could claim more managers and police officers.

City spokesman Randy King would not specify when more layoffs could occur, but he said Mayor Stephen R. Reed could announce the details of additional layoffs as early as today. King said at least two dozen city managers and police officers are on a layoff list.

"It's going to have to happen," King said, noting that Harrisburg's $1.4 million payroll is due tomorrow.

New layoffs would be in addition to the 32 managers, police cadets and nonuniformed workers who lost their jobs in the first round of cuts late last month. The city also eliminated 23 vacant positions, winnowing its staff to 616.

City administrators say Harrisburg is facing a $6.8 million deficit this year, even after today's scheduled receipt of a $7 million loan.

Last month, Reed asked for a $10.5 million loan to carry the city into 2007 without more job cuts and to set the stage for a more modest tax hike next year. But city council approved only $7 million.

Several council members argued again last night that the $7 million loan should be enough to spare the jobs of police officers.

"I'm strongly against any more police getting laid off in Harrisburg," said council Vice President Susan Brown Wilson.

However, Wilson did say Harrisburg remains in a "poor fiscal condition," and she would not rule out cutting city staff with "top-heavy salaries."

Councilwoman Linda Thompson pointed out large differences in various city projections of remaining expenses for 2006 as proof the city can get by on the lesser loan.

Thompson said competing estimates produced by the mayor's office and the city budget office differ by as much as $9 million, with differing amounts listed for debt service and vendor payments, among other discrepancies.

"We gave them $7 million to avert layoffs," she said.

In his latest budget projection, Reed said the city has $29.7 in remaining expenses, but just $22.9 million in expected revenues, including the $7 million loan. That leaves a deficit of $6.8 million, Reed has said.

Thompson also criticized Reed's decision to lay off nine city police cadets as part of the first round of layoffs.

She argued that the cadets and their salaries should have been covered under a three-year, $750,000 grant the city received from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to hire five more cops.

"I want to know why they laid the cadets off," Thompson said.

Reed has said he is looking into whether he can apply the grant money to bring back veteran officers after they have been laid off.

Reed said he will argue that the recall would amount to an expansion of the police force -- the grant's intent -- since the pending staff cuts would permanently reduce Harrisburg's compliment of officers.

[EastSideHBG]

HARRISBURG

Hotel plan crosses another hurdle

Friday, November 17, 2006
BY JOHN LUCIEW
Of The Patriot-News

A 148-room hotel proposed for Harrisburg's Restaurant Row would sit at the crossroads of North Second Street's bustling commercial strip and State Street's historic buildings, churches and, of course, the state Capitol.

The hotel's developer argued last night that the 14-story building's design would allow it to successfully straddle those two worlds.

"You'll get the sense of being in front of a three-story building," developer J. Alex Hartzler said of the hotel's three-story brick facade and its recessed tower.

"This will bring new life to State Street," he said.

The Harrisburg Planning Commission agreed. The advisory body voted 5-0 to recommend the project to the Zoning Hearing Board and the City Council.

"It's a slam dunk," said planning commissioner Ronnie G. Shaffer.

One major issue remains. The approval sets the stage for the city's Zoning Hearing Board to determine the building's height. The board will have the final say on how tall the building can be at a meeting set for 6 p.m. Monday in city hall.

The City Council will review and vote on the design and development plans at an as-yet unscheduled meeting, but the council doesn't get a say on the height under Harrisburg's planning and development rules.

Hartzler last night announced a slight concession on the height, saying design revisions have scaled back the tower 5 feet from the original 170-foot proposal.

Current city zoning limits buildings to 45 feet in the area nearest State Street and 60 feet on the rest of the lot.

Historic Harrisburg Association, a city preservation group, is among those opposing such a towering building along State Street.

David Zwifka, the group's executive director, and Craig Peiffer, HHA president, repeated concerns that the project could block sight lines to the Capitol and would be out of character with the low-rise historic buildings along State Street.

"This project is not appropriate and should not be permitted," Zwifika said.

Jay Lightcap of Susquehanna Twp. was more blunt, labeling the building's design and location "absolutely obscene." He urged Harrisburg officials to protect the area surrounding the Capitol.

"The Capitol belongs to all of us, not just Harrisburg," Lightcap said.

Others embraced the project.

Charles Peguese said it represented something fresh among what he called Harrisburg's "blah" buildings.

"It's going to be the first structure with any character that's been built in a while," he said.

The $10 million project to build a Starwood Aloft hotel includes an outdoor pool, street-level retail space, and a lounge and 140-seat restaurant with a sidewalk cafe on State Street.

Starwood, which manages hotel brands including Westin and Sheraton, is rolling out the Aloft brand to target young, hip business travelers. Hartzler has billed the project as a perfect fit for Restaurant Row, the city's strip of bars, restaurants and nightclubs along North Second Street.

The company says Aloft hotels will offer stylish, modern design, accessible technology and a hip, urban attitude. Guest rooms would have 9-foot ceilings and oversized windows to feature natural light. And each room would have a combination high-tech office and entertainment center.

Hartzler said he hopes to have all the necessary city approval by the end of the year. He would begin construction next year, with a planned opening in the late fall of 2008.

It would be downtown's third major hotel, joining the Hilton Harrisburg & Towers and the Crowne Plaza.

[EastSideHBG]

Well will wonders never cease?!? And it is funny what some people in HBG will argue over: one measly floor!


HARRISBURG

Hotel plan wins zoning exception
Board votes 2-1 to approve height at 165 feet

Tuesday, November 21, 2006
BY JOHN LUCIEW
Of The Patriot-News

The Aloft brand hotel planned for Harrisburg's Restaurant Row will be a little less lofty than first proposed.

The city Zoning Hearing Board voted 2-1 last night to approve the hotel's height at 13 floors and 165 feet.

That is down from the 14-story, 170-foot design developer J. Alex Hartzler first announced. The hotel proposed for North Second and State streets also has downsized the number of rooms by 10, to 138.

Board chairwoman Marian Frankston still wanted to see how low Hartzler would go.

"Can you go down one floor?" Frankston asked last night after more than two hours of testimony.

"I already have," Hartzler responded, referring to the earlier decision to cut a floor before the final designs were submitted to the city. "I need 138 rooms."

Hearing board members David Wise and Angela Watson agreed with the developer, establishing the hotel's height at 165 feet, including a roof-top private residence that could be rented to the public, but also occupied by Hartzler.

"It was my Donald Trump moment," Hartzler said of the roof-top condo.

The zoning hearing board signed off unanimously on seven other special exceptions for the hotel that had to do with setbacks, on-site parking and floor and lot ratios.

But the most important -- and controversial -- issue was the height, on which the zoning hearing board had the final say.

The board's vote superseded the city zoning, which limits buildings to 45 feet in the area nearest State Street and 60 feet on the rest of the lot.

The City Council will review and vote on the hotel's design and development plans at an as-yet unscheduled meeting. But the council does not have the power to revisit the height issue under Harrisburg's planning and development rules.

The debate surrounding the hotel's height centered on its impact on the views and sight lines to the state Capitol.

Hartzler and his team presented numerous artist renderings showing the hotel superimposed upon the cityscape. They argued that the hotel, with its signature "flying buttress" rooftop design that resembles a large check mark, would compliment, not compete, with the much taller and still dominant capitol dome.

"[The Capitol] dominates the entire skyline," architect Hunter Johnson said. "We can't compete with that."

Others disagreed.

Historic Harrisburg Association, a city preservation group, was among those opposing such a towering building along historic and sedate State Street.

"It would be ignoring the past 25 years of sound zoning," HHA president Craig Peiffer said of making a height exception for the hotel.

Added resident Kara Russell: "Some places deserve a higher level of protection. I believe State Street is one of those places."

But Capitol Area Neighbors, a group representing business and residents in the shadow of the Capitol dome, expressed support for the hotel.

"It will co-exist with the Capitol," group president William Allis said. "We recognize the significant economic impact for the city."

The $10 million project to build a Starwood Aloft hotel includes an outdoor pool, street-level retail space, and a lounge and 140-seat restaurant with a sidewalk cafe on State Street.

Starwood, which manages hotel brands including Westin and Sheraton, is rolling out the Aloft brand to target young, hip business travelers. Hartzler has billed the project as a perfect fit for Restaurant Row, the city's strip of bars, restaurants and nightclubs along North Second Street.

Hartzler said he hopes to have all the remaining city approvals by the end of the year. He would begin construction next year, with a planned opening in the late fall of 2008.

It would be downtown's third major hotel, joining the Hilton Harrisburg & Towers and the Crowne Plaza.

[EastSideHBG]

DISCLAIMER: I'm sorry I am being so negative lately, folks, but I just can't help myself; I now loathe the HBG area and all it has become! With each visit (twice in the last few weeks in fact) and with each article I read, I hate what it has become more and more. I try so very hard to be optimistic but I just can't be...very, VERY sad!

The word on the street (HarrisburgNightlife) has learned that plans are underway to convert Angelina’s into a brick oven pizza restaurant and Catalano’s will become a steakhouse in 2007. Wow, yet another pizza place and another steak house for the area...how exciting, 'cause we all know there is no shortage of those.


Catalanos leaving restaurant business

Competition eroded restaurants' clientele

Thursday, November 23, 2006
BY SUE GLEITER
Of The Patriot-News

After nearly three decades, the Catalano family is getting out of the restaurant business.

Catalano's Lounge and Restaurant and neighboring Angelina's Ristorante will serve their final dinners New Year's Eve, when the keys will be handed over to the Carter family, owners of Dukes Riverside Bar & Grille, also in Wormleysburg.

The Carter family could not be reached to comment on their plans.

"We're not sad. Honestly, it's the best for our family. We've had a long run," Ann Catalano said.

The Catalano family this year sold the restaurants to RVG Management & Development Co. in Wormleysburg to help pay off $2 million in debt. They continued to oversee the restaurants' day-to-day operations.

The family said they have fallen on tough times due to increased competition, especially across the river from Restaurant Row.

When Ann Catalano's in-laws -- Grace Catalano and her late husband, Vince -- opened the Italian-American restaurant in 1977, it was among a handful of midstate fine-dining establishments, including the Maverick.

"This used to be the place for dinner and to bring guests from out of town. We still know the people, they're really friendly. You go where the service is good, where the food is good," said Arman Leo of Lower Allen Twp. who has patronized Catalano's since it opened.

Through the years, the restaurant attracted legislators, business professionals and couples celebrating special occasions. Patrons would sip cocktails around the bar and eat crab cakes, veal parmesan and pasta dishes in the dining room overlooking the Harrisburg skyline.

Celebrities including governor Tom Ridge, Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, former President Gerald Ford, actress Marion Ross and actor Chris Meloni of "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" patronized the restaurant.

Their pictures line the walls alongside hundreds of celebrity and family photographs. The family plans to keep some of the celebrity photographs, but will give some of them away to diners and friends.

Catalano's made headlines in January 1996, when flood waters washed away part of the Walnut Street Bridge, causing a surge of water and ice to tear into the back of the restaurant. It reopened eight months later.

The family said business dropped off in recent years, as diners began to patronize other restaurants.

"We used to get a lot of referrals from the Hilton and the Crowne Plaza, and obviously people didn't want to get in their cars and travel to the West Shore when they could walk [to a restaurant]," Ann Catalano said.

People have more dining options now than they did 30 years ago, whether it be dinner at one of the many chain restaurants or takeout from the supermarket, she said.

This year, the Catalanos attempted to attract more diners by creating a casual vibe, replacing table linens with place mats and easing back on the dress code.

Likewise, Angelina's received a facelift with a sports bar feel and new name, Cronies, but the name didn't stick and the name returned to Angelina's.

The Catalanos are preparing for a busy month as they say their goodbyes and plan for the Dec. 31 sendoff.

"I'm ready to call it a day," Grace Catalano said. "We're all leaving happy. God has been good to us."

[harrisburger]

i understand that catalano's has been there for years, but it's just a restaurant. i didn't think it was very special the 3 times i've been there. their behaviour of late has been bothersome too. the mentioned drop of dress codes took away a lot of the class that place had. also, i know that two employees of catalono's came around to area neighborhoods (mine included) a few weeks back and were selling bunches of coupons for $20. looking back, this was just a cheap shot at making some quick cash. granted, my family bought the coupons because they were a good deal, but it was still a cash grab.
and eastside, i frankly don't get your attitude. i know you're not very keen on the city recently and i hate nitpicking, but "Wow, yet another pizza place and another steak house for the area...how exciting, 'cause we all know there is no shortage of those."...... i'm sure you know the glut of italian restaurants. nonna's, nino's and the new pizza grille are all better and cheaper than catalano's, and they're all a few minutes drive, to say nothing of 2nd st. good riddance i say. and i hope the pizza place is jojo's in enola. they have the best pizza in the area.

[EastSideHBG]

Originally Posted by harrisburger

and eastside, i frankly don't get your attitude. i know you're not very keen on the city recently and i hate nitpicking, but "Wow, yet another pizza place and another steak house for the area...how exciting, 'cause we all know there is no shortage of those."...... i'm sure you know the glut of italian restaurants. nonna's, nino's and the new pizza grille are all better and cheaper than catalano's, and they're all a few minutes drive, to say nothing of 2nd st. good riddance i say. and i hope the pizza place is jojo's in enola. they have the best pizza in the area.

There is not much to get, harrisburger, and I was being sarcastic. A steak house and a pizza place is the absolute LAST thing the Harrisburg area needs right now...just stop and think about all of those that have opened in the last few years (and will open in the near future e.g. another Charlie Brown's in the Cap. City Mall lot). And you proved my point exactly, and think of all of the pizza places/Italian restaurants in that small radius already!

I never said Catalano's and Angelino's were that special, but at least they were semi-unique and they screamed "Harrisburg". But now the area will be getting the same crap it already has...again. IMO the entire area is becoming cookie-cutter crap, too afraid to think outside of the box and sticking with the same ol' same ol' always. I'm disappointed and I KNOW the area can do (and deserves) better!

And the part that burns me up the most about all of this is these restaurants should be demolished anyway and Bridgeport should be being built as we speak! But what happened again? The area and the people in it BLEW IT, and yet another awesome project down the drain.


It's probably best if I stop posting in this thread anyway *sigh*

[danwxman]

Originally Posted by EastSideHBG

There is not much to get, harrisburger, and I was being sarcastic. A steak house and a pizza place is the absolute LAST thing the Harrisburg area needs right now...just stop and think about all of those that have opened in the last few years (and will open in the near future e.g. another Charlie Brown's in the Cap. City Mall lot). And you proved my point exactly, and think of all of the pizza places/Italian restaurants in that small radius already!

I never said Catalano's and Angelino's were that special, but at least they were semi-unique and they screamed "Harrisburg". But now the area will be getting the same crap it already has...again. IMO the entire area is becoming cookie-cutter crap, too afraid to think outside of the box and sticking with the same ol' same ol' always. I'm disappointed and I KNOW the area can do (and deserves) better!

And the part that burns me up the most about all of this is these restaurants should be demolished anyway and Bridgeport should be being built as we speak! But what happened again? The area and the people in it BLEW IT, and yet another awesome project down the drain.


It's probably best if I stop posting in this thread anyway *sigh*

Don't you get tired of all the doom and gloom you keep trying to spread? As for the end of Angelinas and Catalanos...I don't really care...neither do a lot of people my age, which is probably one of the reasons why those places are having problems staying afloat. Anyway, at least they are being turned into other restaurants rather then used car lots.

Yea, there is a lot of the same stuff duplicated all across the metro. But that's just because this area is finally starting to get realized by national retailers, and they are expanding rapidly (one Target to four in only a few years). There's still PLENTY of unique restaurants and establishments in this area. I love the Morrocan restaurant in Mechanicsburg, and the new middle eastern places in Harrisburg. The Pizza Grille on the west shore has the best pizza and it's always packed. Don't forget about the Colisuem opening up soon on St. Johns road. Migration to the Harrisburg area from progressive metros like DC, Philly and New York has stepped up into high gear. Things can only get better around here with some fresh blood.

[EastSideHBG]

Originally Posted by danwxman

Don't you get tired of all the doom and gloom you keep trying to spread?

LOL yeah, you're right, danwxman. The city's awful budget, MAJOR crime problems and laying off police; a hotel that almost didn't happen and had to be scaled back; blowing prime real estate on Cameron St. with more crap; MANY projects that should move forward that are still standing still...you're right, I am "trying" to spread the doom and gloom. That is probably the funniest thing I have read in a while, because one does not need to TRY to spread doom and gloom when it comes to Harrisburg...the reality is already sad enough!

Typical Harrisburg: "Hey you are just being negative! Don't acknowledge the problems we have, just pretend everything is fine! What's that, Mayor, you want another $10 million for Wild West Artifacts? SURE! A WW Museum in HBG sounds like an awesome idea!!! Don't say anything bad, people, that would be negative"

Oh wait, now someone will chime in with the textbook, "Hey, things aren't that bad here! The Carlisle Pike just got another TGI Fridays! And didn't you hear about all of those cool new sprawl-zilla homes in Silver Spring Twp.?!?"

As for the end of Angelinas and Catalanos...I don't really care...neither do a lot of people my age, which is probably one of the reasons why those places are having problems staying afloat.

Business is business and you can't expect a place to be around forever. But my point in all of this is the HBG area needs more UNIQUE things, and the "changing of the guard" so to speak is not a good sign IMO; this story goes deeper for me, because it shows yet another citizen that cared deeply about HBG/the area and made it what it is today is instead throwing up their hands and getting out for many, many reasons.

And again, all of this should be a moot point anyway because Bridgeport should be underway!


Like I said earlier, I should probably stop posting in this thread anyway because I see very little good news these days, I no longer live in HBG, and I start to care less and less about it with each passing day. But in an attempt to keep this thread going (a thread I worked very hard at I might add; it was because of a mere few of us that HBG even got attention on this forum!) because I really don't see anyone else doing much in it, I use the only news that I have available being 90+ miles away now. So who is to blame again? I'm only as good as what I am given to work with!

[EastSideHBG]

Taxes, layoffs or debt must rise in '07

Budget will test Harrisburg's mayor and council

Monday, November 27, 2006
BY JOHN LUCIEW
Of The Patriot-News

The process of passing Harrisburg's budget for 2007 could be a time of reckoning for the city's leaders, its workers and ultimately, its taxpayers.

Burdened by a $6.8 million deficit from this year, Harrisburg faces stark choices as it prepares to enter the new year.

The city must borrow heavily, raise taxes considerably, lay off many more workers or choose some combination of the three.

Amid this backdrop, Harrisburg's leaders -- Mayor Stephen R. Reed and the seven-member City Council -- have displayed not only deep disagreement over the proper financial course but outright personal contempt at times.

Can they lay aside their differences and forge a compromise?

The work of charting the city's financial future begins with Reed's budget address to council at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow in City Hall.

Reed said part of his plan will call for a $10.5 million, 10-year loan to help erase the deficit and return the city to firmer financial footing.

The loan would repay this month's short-term $7 million borrowing that provided an immediate injection of cash into city coffers. The remaining $3.5 million of the long-term loan would go to cover a portion of the leftover $6.8 million deficit for this year.

Reed has promised that the $10.5 million loan will be repaid with the sale of city assets, including Western artifacts he accumulated for a museum, and naming rights of city parks and an island in the Susquehanna River.

This way, the loan could be retired without using tax money, Reed said.

However, council members have resisted borrowing beyond the original $7 million bailout loan.

Absent a way to deal with the deficit, Reed has warned to brace for more layoffs.

Already, at least 37 city managers and police cadets have been let go, and as many as 38 nonuniformed employees are to follow as early as Jan. 5.

But Reed has said that if the budget isn't resolved, there could be dozens more city employees out of their jobs. Most disconcerting, Reed has said, is that some will be police officers and perhaps firefighters.

It also seems to be a foregone conclusion that the 2007 budget will carry a tax increase.

Reed points out that tax increases are relatively rare for the city. There have been none in at least five years.

With rising city expenses and stagnant revenues, Reed said he had wanted to raise taxes in recent years but felt he couldn't get council to agree.

For their part, council members take pride in holding the line on taxes, and even executed a tax rebate in 2005. This year, however, neither side might have much choice.

While taxes haven't gone up, residents have been hit with increases for virtually all other city utilities, including 15 percent to 20 percent hikes in water, sewer and trash pickup rates in recent years.

Here's a closer look at what's at stake for those on all sides of Harrisburg's budget crisis:

Since the financial crisis broke in September, Reed and council have not demonstrated that they can work together.

Council twice rejected Reed's call for larger short-term borrowing to alleviate the deficit and avoid layoffs. Council held firm at $7 million, usually on a 4-3 vote.

Vice President Susan Brown Wilson and members Linda Thompson, Gloria Martin Roberts and Dan Miller have formed a voting bloc that argues that more borrowing isn't the path to sounder finances.

President Vera Jean White and members Wanda R.D. Williams and Patty Kim have voted for the larger borrowing to avoid layoffs.

Amid the standoff, there's been bitter back-and-forth bickering over the city's financial figures and the origin of the crisis.

Council members have questioned the accuracy of the administration's estimates and have flung accusations of financial mismanagement.

Reed has countered that some council members distorted the facts to confuse the issue. Both sides have traded some rough rhetoric in heated exchanges.

"It has been a personal attack," White said. "But the attack is not on me or the mayor. It's a personal attack on the citizens of Harrisburg. We have to get past where we are now."

City employees:

With layoffs occurring and more threatened, numerous city workers say morale is down, workloads are up and their future is frustratingly uncertain.

Some council members have told of bitter confrontations or tearful exchanges with laid-off employees in grocery stores or on the streets. There have been public rallies in support of city police officers.

At a time when crime appears to be on the rise, Police Chief Charles Kellar said he's been ordered to compile a layoff list of 25 officers, based on seniority. Some on the list have been on the 170-officer force for five or six years, he said.

Reed has vowed to hold off on cutting police for now but warns that can't continue if the full deficit is allowed to remain.

"Public safety and other staff will have to be left go," Reed said. "There simply will not be enough money to cover their costs."

Kellar said that prospect has officers worried about their jobs instead of thinking about their work.

"I don't like to see them go through this," he said. "Right now, they're thinking about their jobs. They need to have their heads in the game."

City taxpayers:

The owner of a house assessed at $100,000 pays $850 annually in city property taxes under the 8.5-mill combined levy on land and improvements. A mill equals $1 per $1,000 of assessed value. Dauphin County and city school district taxes are separate.

A 10 percent increase would translate into $85 more a year; 20 percent would cost that homeowner $170 more annually; and a 30 percent hike would boost the bill by $255.

Expect the tax increase to fall somewhere in the middle.

On the bright side, the portion of property taxes that a homeowner pays to the city is about a third of what goes to the school district and is roughly the same as what's paid to Dauphin County.

In other words, city taxes are not the biggest component of a homeowner's overall property tax burden.

[EastSideHBG]

Oh wait, things aren't that bad, and I am the one spreading the doom and gloom! My talk about the layoffs and MASSIVE issues in the city is just me putting a pessimistic spin on things. Right, danwxman?!?

After these increases, say bye-bye to the city residents that are hanging by a string. And TRUST ME, there are a lot of them...


Reed calls for 17% tax increase

In face of Harrisburg's fiscal crisis, he also seeks $10.5 million loan, 15% rise in sewer fees

Wednesday, November 29, 2006
BY JOHN LUCIEW
Of The Patriot-News

Mayor Stephen R. Reed's plan for ridding Harrisburg of an estimated $13.8 million deficit involves a 17 percent real estate tax increase, a $10.5 million loan and a whole lot of belt-tightening.

"The choice will be clear and simple," Reed said last night in his annual budget address to the City Council. "Either resolve this challenge now or allow it to carry over into next year and beyond and force significant staff and service reductions."

The council has until Dec. 31 to pass a budget for 2007.

In initial reactions last night, some members seemed resigned to a tax increase and a longer-term bailout loan of some amount. But all were reserving judgment until the council could hold hearings on the proposed $135.2 million spending plan.

"It seems we've been heading this way," Councilman Dan Miller said. "Our expenditures exceed our revenues. We've got to either significantly reduce services or increase revenue."

But the final figures will be up for debate.

Councilwoman Linda Thompson, who takes pride in having never voted for a tax increase, described a case of sticker shock in seeing Reed's proposal.

"That's a pretty high bill," she said. "We need to determine the need for it. I will have to see the cost-benefit factor. We'll have to justify voting for that."

Reed's proposed 1.5 mill increase would raise the city's combined levy on land and improvements to 10.1 mills. The owner of a house assessed at $100,000 would pay $150 more a year, for a total of $1,010 annually in city taxes. Dauphin County and city school district taxes are separate.

The owner of a house assessed at $50,000 would owe $75 more, for a total annual city tax bill of $505.

Reed said it could have been worse; he was originally eyeing a 4-mill increase. That would have translated into a 46 percent increase, adding $400 a year to the city taxes of the $100,000 homeowner.

"It's remarkably better news," Reed said.

The mayor also proposed a 15 percent increase in city sewer fees. That would add $2.87 to the monthly bill of a typical family of four, for a new monthly rate of $21.97.

The second major part of Reed's plan involves his proposed $10.5 million, 15-year loan.

Harrisburg already has borrowed $7 million through the end of this year to blunt the budget shortfall.

The $10.5 million would repay that short-term borrowing. The remaining $3.5 million would cover a portion of the leftover $6.8 million deficit for this year.

Reed again vowed that he would use money from the sale of city assets, including Western artifacts he accumulated for a museum, a Susquehanna River island, the Harrisburg Senators baseball club and the naming rights of parks, to repay the loan without using tax dollars.

However, Reed also has proposed selling the city's public safety building on Walnut Street to the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority. He said this is mainly to provide collateral for the $10.5 million loan and to allow the authority to be a player in the financing.

While the home of the city's police and fire officials would have a new owner, Reed said operations there wouldn't change and the city would pay only $1 in rent to the authority.

Finally, there is the belt-tightening.

The city's general fund budget -- the portion spent on basic city services such as fire and police, parks and recreation and street cleaning -- would be virtually unchanged for next year at $59.2 million.

While the budget doesn't call for additional staff layoffs, the 32 workers who lost jobs in the fall budget crisis won't be getting them back, Reed said.

The October staff cuts, which involved management and nine police cadets, along with the elimination of 23 vacant positions, are estimated to save $3.4 million next year.

A second round of up to a dozen layoffs was slated for this month, but Reed said that became unnecessary due to other resignations and retirements.

But Reed warned of what he called "massive layoffs" in 2007 if the steps he outlined aren't taken.

"I'm talking major," he said. "You're talking about 55-plus workers, including police officers. That would be a tragedy."

JOHN LUCIEW: 255-8171 or jluciew@patriot-news.com

THE IMPACT

A 1.5 mill increase in the real estate tax rate would raise Harrisburg's combined levy on land and improvements to 10.1 mills. The owner of a house assessed at $100,000 would pay $150 more a year, for a total of $1,010 annually in city taxes. The owner of a house assessed at $50,000 would owe $75 more, for a total annual city tax bill of $505. Dauphin County and city school district taxes are separate. A mill equals $1 per $1,000 of assessed value.

[EastSideHBG]

Oh this is funny for so, so many reasons!


PERRY COUNTY

A citylike skyline on Cove Mountain?
Developer plans apartment complexes, some 22 and 18 stories

Friday, December 01, 2006
BY JOE ELIAS
Of The Patriot-News

DUNCANNON - Perry County could have its own skyline overlooking the Susquehanna River -- complete with buildings as tall as, or taller than, some in Harrisburg.

A New Jersey developer has submitted two sets of plans to build on 1,155 acres of Cove Mountain, near Perdix in Penn Twp.

The plans by David Meiskin of Windsor Cos. of Freehold, N.J., are being called the Preserve at the Mountainside with an east and west section.

The east section would have three apartment complexes -- a nine-story building, a set of 18-story towers and a 22-story building along Schoolhouse Road, just off Routes 11/15.

By comparison, the building at 333 Market St. in Harrisburg, which houses the state Department of Education, has 25 stories, and the Pennsylvania Place Apartments has 26 stories.

The Windsor apartment complexes would have 702 units and three parking lots with 1,357 spaces.

The east section of the development would include about 80 condominium units.

The west section calls for about 75 single-family houses on lots ranging from 1.1 to 2 acres.

Plans call for the west section to be accessed by a road that would be built through the property of Henry Holman II, the chairman of the township board of supervisors.

The development would border Holman's property, and the nearest home would be less than 500 feet away, according to the plans.

Telephone calls to Holman at home were not returned.

Meiskin said he has a legal right to build the road based upon easement agreements Holman has reached with past owners of the property.

The plans are being reviewed by the township engineer and solicitor to see if they meet zoning ordinances.

Township authorities and residents have known for months that Windsor was eyeing the properties owned by J. Nevin White on Cove Mountain and expected a development plan to be submitted.

In recent months, Meiskin had been circulating a draft plan that would closely group the homes, using 247 acres for development and leaving 908 acres mostly untouched.

He has asked the township to consider changes to its zoning plan that would allow for such a clustering development.

Meiskin said he is serious about building the high-rises if he cannot build the cluster development.

"The cluster development is still Plan A as far as I'm concerned. I'd love to build it," Meiskin said by telephone last night. "But I'll build what the current ordinances allow if I have to, and the towers are allowed."

Meiskin said he expects a third part of the plan to be submitted that would call for homes to be built on 4-acre lots in an area zoned forest conservation.

He added it would take about 10 to 15 years to complete the project once construction starts.

"I have every intention of buying the land and building something on it," Meiskin said.

Penn Twp. residents said they were skeptical of the motives behind the Windsor plans.

"It sounds like a joke to me," said Larry Wilson. "The buildings would stick out like a sore thumb."

Wade Driver of Penn Twp. said he thinks the plans with the towers could be Windsor's way of getting the cluster development it wants.

"The whole thing seems rather suspicious to me," he said. "Now people will have to choose between the tall buildings or the cluster development."

The plans are to go before the township planning commission at 8 p.m. Dec. 18 in the township building.

[danwxman]

The plan with tall apartment buildings will never be approved...it's really just a way to scare people into supporting his other plan for single family houses. He knows people in Perry county are scared of anything urban, even though this is right outside the urban borough of Marysville.

[EastSideHBG]

HARRISBURG

State offers investors loans for downtown development

Saturday, December 02, 2006
BY JIM LEWIS
Of The Patriot-News

The state has offered $4 million in loans to private investors who redevelop properties in Harrisburg's South Third Street area, a section that city leaders hope will become a new gateway to the downtown in the future.

Gov. Ed Rendell offered the loan money yesterday to South Third Development Corp., an affiliate of Harristown Development Corp., and private investors who team with the corporation to restore blighted buildings or build new offices, homes or storefronts.

The loans could fund projects in a section of Harrisburg that roughly reaches from the southern end of the Capitol complex to an area of South Third Street that Mayor Stephen R. Reed has proposed as a new "southern gateway" to the city.

Reed's proposal, still in the planning stages, would extend South Third Street from Chestnut Street to Paxton Street, opening up about 35 acres of underused land for new offices, shops and homes that would nearly double the size of the city's downtown.

Each of South Third Development's restoration or construction projects must be approved by the Commonwealth Financing Authority.

The projects would compliment Reed's southern gateway, said Brad Jones, Harristown's vice president of community development.

"I think [Reed] sees this as a way of kick-starting development in those areas in concert" with his plans, Jones said. "Now we have to go back and put projects together."

One project could be slated for a surface parking lot off South Third Street that's owned by Harristown, Jones said.

Reed announced in April that the city was looking to extend South Third Street at an estimated cost of $75 million, much of which would have to be paid with state and federal money. Once begun, the work would take about three years to complete.

Some of the new buildings erected in the newly-accessible area would be built on a raised platform or pier that would cover several blocks of South Second Street and surrounding land to lift them out of the floodplain.

About 3 million square feet of office space could be built in the area, as well as 500,000 square feet of residential space, 250,000 square feet of retail space and 4,000 parking spaces.

Reed called it "unquestionably the largest and most comprehensive redevelopment plan ever conceived for downtown Harrisburg."

The Commonwealth Financing Authority will offer about $150 million in loans to private investors and foundations for real estate development in mostly small to mid-sized communities under Rendell's Building PA program, an initiative to revitalize areas of the state.

[Wheelingman04]

Sorry to hear about all of the negative things happening in Harrisburg. They really need to get the crime rate down and elect better politicans, but that will be tough because people seem to be content with the status quo.

[EastSideHBG]

/\


LOL yet another HBG screw up, putting the 16-story Univ. tower in jeopardy!


HARRISBURG

Council skeptical of university, center plans

Wednesday, December 06, 2006
BY JOHN LUCIEW
Of The Patriot-News

Harrisburg may be pressed for cash, but it's still contemplating backing two multimillion-dollar projects.

The first would funnel $14 million to the 2-year-old Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, helping pay for a proposed $75 million, 16-story academic center at Fourth and Market streets.

The second would sell the city's McCormick Public Services Center on Walnut Street to the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority as a way to raise $10.5 million to help erase the city's budget deficit for 2006.

However, both proposals met with skepticism at a City Council budget and finance committee meeting last night. The plans are expected to come up for a final vote by the council later this month.

Mayor Stephen R. Reed has also proposed a 17 percent real estate tax increase for 2007 to deal with the city's financial problems.

The money for the university would come in the form of a $17.5 million bond issue by the Harrisburg Parking Authority.

The council is being asked to pledge the city's financial guarantee for the deal.

The parking authority would purchase, own and manage the 392 parking spaces to be built as part of the university tower.

Without the parking authority's participation, university President Melvyn Schiavelli said the entire project could fall apart.

"It would stop," Schiavelli said.

The university also has received a $26 million pledge from the state and is expected to borrow about $35 million on its own for the project.

The 170-student university is sharing space with Harrisburg's SciTech High at the science- and technology-based high school's campus located at 215 Market St.

Controversy arose when parking authority officials conceded that they will actually lose money on parking for the university tower.

That's because the number of spaces is half of a typical city parking garage, and the parking is being built as part of a larger and costlier construction project.

As a result, an estimated $660,000 in annual parking revenues that would otherwise go to the city's general fund would go to subsidize debt payments for the university parking project.

"Why would we do this?" asked Councilman Dan Miller. "The money is coming right out of the city budget."

Parking officials said the estimated losses in city revenue would be blunted by an anticipated increase in parking fees in 2010.

Meanwhile, the sale of the public safety building to the redevelopment authority has emerged as a key part of Mayor Stephen R. Reed's plan for ridding Harrisburg of an estimated $13.8 million deficit.

City officials said last night that the building sale is virtually the only way the city can borrow the needed $10.5 million to cover part of this year's budget deficit.

The money would go to repay last month's short-term, $7 million borrowing through the end of this year.

The remaining $3.5 million would cover a portion of the leftover $6.8 million deficit for this year.

The redevelopment authority would own the building and borrow the $10.5 million from Commerce Bank, which wants the building as collateral.

The authority would hand over the $10.5 million to the city, and Harrisburg would pay the authority about $1.6 million annually to cover payments on the loan.

City budget director Linda Lingle said that while the building is part of the deal, the loan would be repaid using money from the sale of city assets, including Western artifacts Reed accumulated for a museum, a Susquehanna River island, the Harrisburg Senators baseball club and the naming rights of parks.

The city would retake title to the public safety building, home to the city's police and fire officials, once the loan was repaid, Lingle said.

But Miller and other council members said they wanted more assurances that the sale of the artifacts would be tied to repaying the loan, among other concerns.

"This [loan] could go for 10 years and not one artifact would have to be sold," Miller said.

[BuffaloBill]

I guess it's a good thing I am moving back to Buffalo in 2008.